


Flames Climb Higher

by LigerCat



Category: Phineas and Ferb
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Earthquakes, Fire, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Natural Disasters, Tragedy, Vacation, heavily inspired by a book
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:34:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21612325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LigerCat/pseuds/LigerCat
Summary: Shoddy building, an earthquake, and group of friends on vacation, what could go wrong?
Relationships: Ferb Fletcher & Phineas Flynn, Vanessa Doofenshmirtz/Ferb Fletcher
Comments: 3
Kudos: 24





	Flames Climb Higher

"You need to get up." Phineas leaned over Ferb, face to face, hand gripping his shoulder. "I can't move you, so I need you to get up."

The light of flames danced across his skin. The screams of other people were nothing but background noise--he still winced when a crack followed by boom rang out and a few voices fell silent.

Raising his gaze, he looked through the smoke, eyes lingering on the others wandering through it with the same detached haze on their faces that he was currently feeling beneath the surface. But he couldn't give into it. He needed to get Ferb up and out of there.

There were others who needed help too but he couldn't do anything for them. Not now.

"Ferb, wake up." Moving his hand, he smacked Ferb on the cheek. He knew it was nothing but a coincidence that Ferb blinked his eyes open a second later. Phineas could see the moment he realized what was happening around them.

Ferb paled, scrambling to his feet before freezing. "Phineas..." The whisper had Phineas grabbing his brother's arm.

"You need to leave before the fire reaches the doors." He might as well have not said them for the amount of impact they made.

Instead of doing that, Ferb drew his shirt up over his mouth and nose and went farther in, carefully weaving around tables and overturned chairs and stools.

Phineas followed in a more casual path. He wished Ferb would just leave. This wasn't something he needed to see. But Phineas knew he wouldn't, not until he either found someone to help or realized there was no one there he could.

The part of Phineas that wasn't focused on Ferb was itching to go find their friends. Isabella, Buford, Baljeet, and Vanessa had still been in the hotel. The earthquake would have shaken them up, but he didn't know if the fire was in that part of the building too. Or something could have fallen, like in the ballroom. Phineas regretted his decision to go in there.

He regretted the decision Ferb and he had made to skip going to their hotel rooms first.

Ferb stopped, head tilting before he took off towards a row of slot machines.

Sighing, Phineas kept his slower pace. Even if they got separated, he could find him again. He didn't need to worry anyway, he hadn't gone halfway when Ferb started back, a semiconscious woman in his arms. Even from the distance, the burns on her legs were visible, the lower part of her dress looked fused to her.

Phineas turned away. It wasn't that seeing it bothered him, it was the opposite. He felt something about it, but it was almost apathy. Maybe it was apathy, he wasn't sure he'd ever felt it before to really compare it.

Holding her, Ferb couldn't keep his shirt over his mouth. His coughing made Phineas refocus. Now that they were closer, it was easy to see her legs were more than burned, they were broken.

The smoke grew thicker. Ferb squinted, eyes watering.

Phineas laid a hand on his back. "Just keep moving. Help's on its way." He didn't know exactly know he knew that. He stuck close as Ferb did keep moving, a small amount of relief overtaking him when the wide-open doors finally came into sight.

Once outside, he stopped and watched the fire continue to build, consuming everything it could.

He didn't turn away until the firetrucks pulled up, ambulances full of much needed paramedics right behind them. He slipped through those who had made it out either on their own or with the help of others until he found Ferb. The woman was gone, probably already loaded up on a stretcher.

Ferb stood near an ambulance with a medic wrapping his hands. No one paid any attention to Phineas as he took the spot next to him. That was okay, he didn't pay any attention to the questions they were asking Ferb either. He hadn't been in the path of the smoke long enough to need any treatment for it. At least, Phineas didn't think he had been.

The medics must have thought the same because they shooed them off with only the bandaged hands.

They sat across the street, out of the way, and waited. It wasn't the most comfortable silence they'd ever had together, but Phineas wasn't complaining. Their shoulders and arms brushed and he latched onto the familiarity. It was all he could do.

He noticed survivors being herded out the hotel, but he didn't give them any mind until Ferb jumped up and raced over there. Phineas took his time joining him, smiling in relief when he saw what had drawn Ferb over. By the time he reached him, their friends were already deep into explaining what had happened in the hotel, frequently talking over each other in their haste. Some of the floors had gone up in flames and, while theirs hadn't, the floors below had and they didn't want to risk the stairs with the amount of heat coming up.

From there, the conversation drifted with Vanessa taking her boyfriend's hands and asking about the bandages. Ferb gave a short answer, practically glossing over saving someone from the fire.

Then the question came. The elephant that had been ignored up until that point. It was almost surprising it had taken so long to come up. Maybe fear of the answer that kept them silent on it. Or they'd been too caught up in their own adventure to notice.

Isabella asked, "Where's Phineas?"

Phineas looked at his hands. Solid. Real. To him. He'd tried to ignore the way Ferb never responded to him. He'd tried to pretend he'd been one of the few to flee the ballroom after the chandler had fallen.

But he had known. He'd fell when the ground shook. He wasn't used to earthquakes. It wasn't his fault it shook him up bad enough that he didn't manage to get up before the beam broke.

Plenty others hadn't managed to either.

Ferb didn't give a reply. It wasn't needed.

They stuck around for a while, Phineas with them. There wasn't any mourning, survivors were still being recovered. But with time, less were found, and he could feel the shift in the air.

He took his brother's hand, knowing his touch wouldn't be felt. He talked, knowing the words wouldn't be heard.

He could feel the tears on his face but they disappeared before hitting the ground. Still, he forced a smile that didn't meet his eyes when he knew it was nearing the time for them to go. They couldn't wait around with him forever.

There were goodbyes he wanted to say but they felt inadequate, heard or not.

So he just clung to Ferb's hand for as long as he could.

**Author's Note:**

> I was rereading one of my favorite book series, Odd Thomas, and in the second book, he's describing the ghosts that haunt this Indian casino and one is described as a "short, red-haired, cheery looking man whose anguished eyes betrayed his amused smile" (or something close to that, I didn't get the book out to double check the wording). Being the angst loving person I am, my mind went to work and this fic was created.
> 
> Oh, yeah, I don't know anything.


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